Prefilled single use pet bowl
A prefilled single use pet bowl features a body that defines an interior of the pet bowl and also defines a reservoir for water or other liquid for consumption by a pet. An opening communicates between the reservoir and the interior of the pet bowl. The body is deformable by the pet owner and the opening features a selectable closure to allow the pet owner to selectably open the selectable closure and to deform the body of the pet bowl to force water or other liquid through the opening from the reservoir to the interior of the pet bowl. The pet may drink the water through the open top of the interior of the pet bowl.
This application is entitled to priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62/495,115 filed Sep. 2, 2016 by the inventor herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A. Field of the InventionThe Invention is a prefilled single use pet bowl where the interior of the bowl that is accessible to a pet may be selectably filled from a reservoir defined by the structure of the bowl. The reservoir can contain a liquid, such as water, for consumption by the pet. A pet owner can selectably fill the interior of the bowl with the water or other liquid from the reservoir defined by the structure of the pet bowl and make the water or other liquid available to the pet.
B. Statement of the Related ArtBottled water or other beverages are readily available to the human traveler. Animals that lap liquids using their tongues, such as dogs and cats, are not physiologically suited to drink from a conventional water bottle and require an open-topped bowl or other container from which to lap the water. For the purpose of this document, the term ‘water’ means liquid water and also means any other liquid that a pet owner may wish to provide for consumption by his or her pet.
A person traveling with a pet must either find or carry a bowl from which the pet may drink or risk dehydrating the pet. As used in this document, the term ‘bowl’ means a vessel that defines an interior that is open-topped and that will hold water. The interior and the open top of the interior are configured to allow a pet to lap, and thereby drink, water contained within the interior of the bowl.
The prior art does not teach the pet bowl of the Invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe Invention is a pet bowl. The pet bowl has a body that defines walls and a base. The walls and base define an interior. The interior has an open top and is configured to hold water so that a pet can drink the water through the open top.
The walls, the base or both the walls and the base define a reservoir. An opening between the reservoir and the interior provides selectable fluid communication between the reservoir and the interior of the pet bowl. The reservoir is sealed by a selectable closure and water does not flow from the reservoir except through the opening and past the selectable closure. The wall, the base or the walls and base may be deformable, as are the walls of the familiar disposable water bottle for human consumption. The body may be resilient so that the pet bowl resumes its original shape after deformation.
To access the water, the pet owner may open the selectable closure and may compress the walls, base or walls and base of the pet bowl, expelling water from the reservoir through the opening and into the interior of the pet bowl. The pet owner may then close the selectable closure and make the pet bowl and the water in the interior of the pet bowl available to the pet. The pet owner can control the amount of water that flows through the opening and hence the amount of water available to the pet by controlling the selectable closure and by controlling the compression of the walls, base, or walls and base. The pet owner can re-seal the selectable opening and save the remaining water in the reservoir for later use.
As a first alternative, both the walls and base of the pet bowl may define the reservoir. As a second alternative, the base and not the walls may define the reservoir. As a third alternative, the walls and not the base may define the reservoir. Where the walls define at least a part of the reservoir, the walls include an inside wall and an outside wall and the space between the inside and outside wall defines the reservoir.
The selectable closure may be a simple cap, such as a screw cap, that the pet owner unscrews to access the water in the reservoir. The selectable closure may be in the form of a removable plug. The removable plug may be attached to the body to avoid loss of the plug. The removable plug may be flush, or nearly so, with the surface of the interior of the pet bowl when in the sealed condition. The selectable closure may be any suitable valve known in the art, such as a pull-to-open, push-to-close valve familiar to users of conventional disposable water bottles for human consumption. The pull-to-open, push-to-close valve may be equipped with a side discharge rather than the conventional end discharge to keep the water in the interior of the pet bowl. The selectable closure may be located at the bottom of the interior at the base of the body. Alternatively, the selectable closure may be located on the inside wall of the body.
The selectable closure may be equipped with a back flow prevention apparatus to prevent water within the interior of the pet bowl from flowing back into the reservoir through the opening. The backflow prevention apparatus may be in the form of a check valve.
The circumference of the top edge of the pet bowl is larger than the circumference of the base of the pet bowl. As a result, the pet bowl containing water in the reservoir may be conveniently stacked with other pet bowls and may be conveniently shipped, stored, and sold alongside bottled water for human consumption.
The base or walls of the pet bowl may define accordion folds to allow the base or walls to collapse uniformly as the pet owner compresses the base or walls to expel water from the reservoir through the opening and into the interior of the pet bowl. The accordion folds allow a greater ultimate volume of water storage within the reservoir. The accordion folds also allow the pet owner to asymmetrically deform the accordion folds so that the open top of the pet bowl is in a level condition even if the base of the pet bowl rests on a sloping surface.
The pet bowl of the Invention allows a pet owner to conveniently carry water for a pet, as in tote bag, purse, backpack, or in a vehicle without risk of spillage. The pet bowl also allows a pet owner to travel without carrying a bowl or water for the pet because the pet owner can purchase the pet bowl, already charged with water, as needed.
In an alternative embodiment, the body has a first position and a second position and is movable between the first and second positions. In the first position, the body defines a water bottle. In the second position, the body defines a pet bowl. The body of this alternative embodiment has a first end, a second end, and a central portion intermediate between the first and second ends. The circumference of the center portion is greater than the circumference of the first end or the second end. The opening communicating with the reservoir is disposed proximal to the first end. In the first position, the first end is distal to the second end. In the second position, the body is collapsed so that first end is proximal to the second end and the distance between the first end and the second end is less than the distance between the center portion and the second end. For the alternative embodiment, the outside surface of the first end of the water bottle when the body is at the first position defines the inside surface of the interior of the pet bowl when the body is in the second position.
This alternative embodiment allows a water bottle for human consumption and the pet bowl to be one and the same. The pet owner can drink a portion of the water in the water bottle, can convert the partially-filled water bottle into a pet bowl, and can provide the water in the reservoir of the pet bowl to the pet.
The bowl of the Invention also may be used for products for human consumption, such as to dispense milk for a pre-packaged single serving of a breakfast cereal. The breakfast cereal may be contained within the interior of the bowl and the milk disposed in the reservoir. The consumer compresses the wall, the base, or the walls and base to expel milk from the reservoir through the opening and onto the breakfast cereal to moisten the breakfast cereal. The user then consumes the moistened breakfast cereal through the open top of the interior using a spoon. The bowl of the Invention may be used for any other application where a single serving of a liquid for human consumption is to be consumed from a bowl.
From
From
From
As shown by the exploded sectional side view of
The selectable closure 26 may take the form of a removable plug 32, shown by
The back flow prevention apparatus 48 of
The accordion folds 52 also allow the base 6 to move with respect to the remainder of the body 4, as shown by
The body 4 of the Invention may be composed of any suitable material. Polyethylene terephalate (PET #1), commonly used for water bottles for human consumption, is believed to be suitable. Other materials believed to be suitable are high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS). The body 4 may be composed of a resilient polymer, such as LDPE or PVC, so that the body 4 resumes its original shape when released in the manner of a squeeze bottle. The body 4 may be composed of a material that remains in the crushed condition when crushed, as in thin-walled PET.
LIST OF NUMBERED ELEMENTSThe following is a list of the numbered elements appearing in the specification and drawings.
- pet bowl 2
- body 4
- base 6
- wall 8
- interior 10
- open top 12
- inside surface 14
- water 16
- reservoir 18
- inside wall 20
- outside wall 22
- opening 24
- selectable closure 26
- screw cap 28
- threads 30
- removable plug 32
- plug receptacle 34
- bottom 36
- valve 38
- pull-to-open, push-to-close valve 40
- arrows 42
- barrel 44
- valve openings 46
- back flow prevention apparatus 48
- check valve 50
- accordion folds 52
- sloping surface 54
- water bottle 56
- first end 58
- second end 60
- first position 62
- center portion 64
- outside surface proximal to the first end 66
- second position 68
- recess 70
- removable cap 72
- straw 74
- make-up air inlet 76
Claims
1. A prefilled pet bowl, the pet bowl comprising:
- a. a body, said body defining an interior of the pet bowl, said interior having an open top, said interior being configured to allow a pet to drink water from said interior;
- b. a reservoir defined by said body, said reservoir being enclosed within said body, said reservoir being configured to contain said water, said reservoir being prefilled with said water; and
- c. an opening, said opening providing a selectable fluid communication between said reservoir and said interior of the pet bowl, whereby said opening selectably allows said water to flow from said reservoir to said interior of the pet bowl and wherein the pet bowl is a one of a plurality of pet bowls, each of said plurality of pet bowls is structurally identical to each other of said plurality of pet bowls, said body of each of said plurality of pet bowls defines a wall and a base, each said wall and said base of each said pet bowl being configured to fit within said interior of each other said pet bowl, whereby each of said plurality of pet bowls is stackable.
2. The pet bowl of claim 1 wherein said opening of each said pet bowl has a selectable closure, said selectable closure allowing selectable sealing and unsealing of said opening by a user, said closure of each said pet bowl being located on said interior of each said pet bowl and extending into said interior of each said pet bowl, said body of each said pet bowl defining a recess, said recess being configured to receive said closure of each other said pet bowl when said pet bowls are stacked.
3. The pet bowl of claim 2 wherein said body of each of said plurality of pet bowls is deformable by said user, whereby said user may unseal said selectable closure and may deform said body of each of said plurality of pet bowls to expel all or a portion of said water through said opening and into said interior of each of said pet bowls, and whereby said user may seal said selectable closure without discharging all of said water contained within said reservoir into said interior of each of said pet bowls.
4. The pet bowl of claim 3 wherein said base and said wall define said reservoir of each of said plurality of pet bowls.
5. The pet bowl of claim 4 wherein said selectable closure is disposed at a bottom of said interior of each of said plurality of pet bowls and said recess is defined by said base of each of said plurality of pet bowls, whereby said plurality of pet bowls may be stacked and unstacked without interference between said selectable closure and said base of each of said plurality of pet bowls.
6. The pet bowl of claim 4 wherein said selectable closure is disposed on a wall of said interior of each of said plurality of pet bowls and said recess is defined by an outside of said wall of each of said plurality of pet bowls, said recess being configured to interfere with said valve during a separation of a one of said pet bowls from a stack of said plurality of pet bowls whereby a user will deform said wall or said base of one or more of said plurality of pet bowls to remove said one of said plurality of pet bowls from said stack.
7. A prefilled pet bowl, the pet bowl comprising:
- a. a body, said body defining an interior of the pet bowl, said interior having an open top, said interior being configured to allow a pet to drink water from said interior;
- b. a reservoir defined by said body, said reservoir being enclosed within said body, said reservoir being configured to contain said water, said reservoir being prefilled with said water; and
- c. an opening, said opening providing a selectable fluid communication between said reservoir and said interior of the pet bowl, whereby said opening selectably allows said water to flow from said reservoir to said interior of the pet bowl, wherein said opening has a selectable closure located on said interior of said body, said selectable closure being a pull-to-open, push-to-close valve, said pull-to-open, push-to-close valve having a side discharge allowing selectable sealing and unsealing of said opening by a user and wherein said valve defines a plurality of side openings, said plurality of side openings being distributed about a circumference of said valve.
8. The pet bowl of claim 7 wherein said body is deformable by said user, whereby said user may unseal said pull-to-open, push-to-close valve and may deform said body to expel all or a portion of said water through said side openings and into said interior of the pet bowl, and whereby said user may seal said pull-to-open, push-to-close valve without discharging all of said water contained within said reservoir into said interior of the pet bowl.
9. The pet bowl of claim 7, the pet bowl further comprising: a back flow prevention apparatus, said back flow prevention apparatus being configured to prevent a flow of water from said interior of the pet bowl through said opening and into said reservoir.
10. The pet bowl of claim 9 wherein said back flow prevention apparatus is a check valve.
11. A prefilled pet bowl, the pet bowl comprising:
- a. a body, said body defining an interior of the pet bowl, said interior having an open top, said interior being configured to allow a pet to drink water from said interior;
- b. a reservoir defined by said body, said reservoir being enclosed within said body, said reservoir being configured to contain said water, said reservoir being prefilled with said water; and
- c. an opening, said opening providing a selectable fluid communication between said reservoir and said interior of the pet bowl, whereby said opening selectably allows said water to flow from said reservoir to said interior of the pet bowl and wherein said body comprises: a wall and a base, said wall and said base defining said interior of the pet bowl, said base defining at least a portion of said reservoir, said base defining an accordion fold, said accordion fold being configured to allow a user to selectably collapse or extend said reservoir, whereby said user may move a bottom of the pet bowl with respect to said interior of the pet bowl.
12. The pet bowl of claim 11 wherein said accordion fold is configured to allow a user-selectable asymmetrical collapse and extension of said reservoir, whereby a user may selectably tilt said interior of the pet bowl with respect to said bottom of the pet bowl.
13. A prefilled pet bowl, the pet bowl comprising:
- a. a body, said body defining an interior of the pet bowl, said interior having an open top, said interior being configured to allow a pet to drink water from said interior;
- b. a reservoir defined by said body, said reservoir being enclosed within said body, said reservoir being configured to contain said water, said reservoir being prefilled with said water; and
- c. an opening, said opening providing a selectable fluid communication between said reservoir and said interior of the pet bowl, whereby said opening selectably allows said water to flow from said reservoir to said interior of the pet bowl and wherein said body defines a first position and a second position, said body being collapsible between said first position and said second position, said body defining said interior when said body is in said second position, said body not defining said interior when said body is in said first position, wherein said body has a first end and a second end, said first end being distal to said second end in said first position and said first end being proximal to said second end in said second position, whereby said body defines a water bottle in said first position and defines the pet bowl in said second position.
14. The pet bowl of claim 13 wherein said body is collapsible between said first position and said second position.
15. The pet bowl of claim 14 wherein said body defines a center portion intermediate to said first end and said second end when said body is in said first position, each of said first end, said second end and said center portion having a circumference, said circumference of said center portion being greater than said circumference of said first end and said second end.
16. The pet bowl of claim 15 wherein said center portion of said body defines an open top of said interior of the pet bowl when said body is in said second position.
17. The pet bowl of claim 14 wherein said body defines an outside surface at said first end of said body when said body is in said first position, said outside surface defining an inside surface of said interior of the pet bowl when said body is in said second position.
18. The pet bowl of claim 17 wherein said opening is disposed on said inside surface of said interior of the pet bowl when said body is in said second position.
3076435 | February 1963 | Seymour |
5809935 | September 22, 1998 | Kolterman |
6101974 | August 15, 2000 | Frohlich |
6148767 | November 21, 2000 | Manchess |
6276299 | August 21, 2001 | Firstbrook |
8011324 | September 6, 2011 | Warganich |
8397676 | March 19, 2013 | Whitney |
8601980 | December 10, 2013 | Wacker |
20080115732 | May 22, 2008 | Stenberg |
20090199776 | August 13, 2009 | Alexander |
20100101499 | April 29, 2010 | Gibson |
20130192529 | August 1, 2013 | Kruger |
20130291802 | November 7, 2013 | Carpentieri |
20180177153 | June 28, 2018 | Matson |
3139778 | April 1983 | DE |
Type: Grant
Filed: Aug 29, 2017
Date of Patent: Dec 3, 2019
Inventor: Stephen LaMarche (Philadelphia, PA)
Primary Examiner: Yvonne R Abbott-Lewis
Application Number: 15/689,803
International Classification: A01K 7/00 (20060101); B65D 21/02 (20060101); B65D 21/08 (20060101); B65D 41/04 (20060101); B65D 47/20 (20060101); B65D 35/46 (20060101);